One of the annual rituals that Pragati Scholars cherish is a trip to the IIM-B campus, sponsored by Vikasana - the social impact club of IIM Bangalore. Due to a number of reasons, this cherished annual ritual had not taken place in the last few years. 2017 has changed that!

We had an eventful trip on 15 Jan 2017, with 75 Pragati Scholars & Mentors and about 10 Vikasana volunteers participating. Students lined up at various points in the city, early in the morning, and two comfortable buses sent by Vikasana picked them all up. We arrived at the campus around 10am.

The serenity & greenery of the campus was soothing and welcoming. Everyone was busy admiring the landscape, and the low-maintenance eco-friendly architecture of the buildings. The first event of the day was in a large amphitheatre-like classroom, and was a talk by Dr Archana Maganti. Dr Archana talked about Success, and Human Values & Factors surrounding it. The talk was very interactive and engaging. She used images of well known personalities, as a starting point for questions & discussions around various values. The students were quite immersed and interested, to the extent that the talk went over by 45 mins and there was interest for more! It concluded with career related questions from many students.

This was followed by a guided tour of the beautiful campus, and lunch. After lunch, we all strolled to a big meadow to take some group pictures. The Vikasana volunteers hit upon a great idea - to submit an entry to the 'Mannequin Contest' of Unmaad - the cultural fest of IIM Bangalore that was ongoing at this time. It was challenging to get about 80 people to freeze in their favourite poses, for several minutes while the video was being shot. The result was quite spectacular, and it was a unique and enjoyable thing never done before on our trips to IIM.

You can view the video below. Here's a few snaps from the fun-filled day. Thank you Vikasana for making this trip possible!